Philbin on Dolphins’ offense: “We had nothing going on”

Posted by Curtis Crabtree on November 16, 2012, 2:11 AM EDT

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In the last two weeks, the Miami Dolphins have played two of the worst defenses in the league in the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans. Offensively they’ve managed to score just 10 points in those two games.

Miami had an offensive touchdown drought that lasted nine quarters spanning back to a 23-20 loss to the Indianapolis Colts two weeks ago. A fourth quarter touchdown pass from quarterback Ryan Tannehill to wide receiver Davone Bess finally ended the streak for Miami.

“It was not a good offensive performance,” head coach Joe Philbin said after the game.

It all started with the Dolphins inability to run the football.

Buffalo entered Thursday night’s game against the Dolphins as the worst defense in the league in stopping the run. The Bills were allowing 163.7 yards per game on the ground. Four times this season a team had managed to run for 182 yards or more against Buffalo. Yet, Miami managed to run for just 60 yards against the Bills on Thursday night.

They didn’t do it by stacking the box by bringing an extra safety down in run support. According to Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald, it was as simple as the Dolphins offensive line getting manhandled up front.

“They weren’t bringing safeties down. They did a good job of shedding blocks and making tackles,” Tannehill said, via Salguero. “There were a few times I turned around and there was really just nowhere to run. And that’s with no safeties being in there. So you have to credit their front seven for doing a good job of making it difficult to run.”

Tannehill was ineffective as well. The rookie completed just 14 of 28 passes for 141 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. Both picks came on the Dolphins’ final two possessions of the game as Tannehill tried to rally the Dolphins to a victory.

“We had nothing going on,” Philbin said. “We weren’t throwing the ball well. We weren’t running it well. They did a great job on defense. We didn’t execute well on offense. It was a huge struggle on offense.”

The Dolphins offense has now been pretty much non-existent for the better part of the last three weeks. The road isn’t going to easier for Miami either. Next up for the Dolphins is a punishing Seattle Seahawks defense that ranks fourth in the league in both yards per game (296.8) and points per game (16.1).

In the Seahawks’ last two games, they’ve allowed just 145 yards passing combined against the Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets. Unless something changes in a hurry for the Dolphins in the next 10 days, it could be another long afternoon for Tannehill and the Dolphins.

The best thing the Fins will have going next week is Seattle is overall poor on the road, usually bad coming off it’s bye week, and has had multi-year doom at winning 10am East Coast starting time games. The Fins have a chance to rebound.

Stats alone says the Seahawks will win like they did against the JETS, but history of team says otherwise.

i wish Ireland could see this, and call me personally
i’m a season ticket holder (section 449 row 2 seats 5,6 and tell me there was a plan going into this season
because to me it seem as if there was no vision no foresight i mean you went and gone a rookie QB and then throw him out there with no weapons
they cant run the ball because everybody jams the line no one team in the NFL is scared of any of your WR. and you knew it cause you said it on hard knocks
i have always liked Ireland but this showed no vision and that your job dude!!!!!!!

samapoc says:Nov 16, 2012 5:53 AM

“We had nothing going on,” describes the Philbin era in Miami. The season is half over and this team has no identity.

In the upcoming off season the Dolphins top priority needs to be the revamping of their o-line, based on their veteran experience, J Long and Incognito looked terrrible. IMO the reason the offense isn’t producing because of the offensive line not creating running lanes and giving the QB time to throw, this poor offensive output has come against two of the worst defenses in the league. I’m sure alot of fans would like Miami to concentrate on getting skill position players and I would like the same as well, but the focus to improve that offensive line must be a priority as well.

“How is it that an offensive line with a first-round pick at left tackle, a first-round pick at center, a second-round pick at right tackle, a third-round pick at right guard and a guy who was signed as a free agent solution a couple of years ago at right guard get beat physically?” – Salguero

Jake Long someone is going to over pay you in free agency next year but it will be based on what you were not what you have become. We should not sign him to one cent more than he is currently making and that is probably too much.

Richie it’s time to move along.

Sean Smith it would really help if you would take a peak back at the qb every now and then to get some friggin idea that the ball is headed your way. You know like the wide receiver does that you are not covering.

Nolan Carroll there just isn’t anything to say.

Mike Sherman just everyu once in a while try to run off tackle instead of between the guards.

ezra954 says:Nov 16, 2012 9:00 AM

This team just needs to leave town and take the marlins with them anytime you say playoffs this team chokes nothing is ever gonna change that atleast Miami has the Heat a team of hype. That doesn’t let you down every year

None of this will improve until the Dolphins have a new General Manager who actually knows what he’s doing. The offensive line is brutal, the wide receivers and tight ends are pathetic and Tannehill is regressing right now as a result of it.

This is yet another year of total irrelevance in the history of this franchise.

Trade a pick for what would be a #1 receiver on our team and then use the rest of the draft to bolster the other positions.

What gives me faith are the Patriots, an absolutely god-awful team between their Super Bowl appearance in ’86 & drafting Drew Bledsoe (he made them decent in my opinion). They show how much you can turn things around.

There is no leaders in this locker room. It’s almost like they lost their heart to play. It’s time to bring back Zack Thomas and Jason Taylor. Hopefully in the draft we can Get some players with passion.

bsizemore68 says:Nov 16, 2012 1:50 PM

People! The QB is a rookie, he is learning the deal, you fools would have dump Payton, Troy and Terry in there first year, how did they turn out. Give the kid some help with receivers and the O line. Bill p.s. Bob Grise ( sp ) had a few rough years also, I think he is in the HOF.